Twinkies R.I.P.

Hostess has filed for bankruptcy, so it looks like the end of Twinkies, for the time being. There are all sorts of suggestions as to why this is happening, from changing eating habits, to a greedy union. Looking at the epidemic of obesity and how much processed foods people eat, it is hard for me to believe that people don't want this kind of food. I am not a huge fan of Twinkies, though I am saddened that 18,000 people have lost their jobs. One story that isn't getting a lot of press is how much money the higher ups at Hostess were making. From another article:

BCTGM members are well aware that as the company was preparing to file for bankruptcy earlier this year, the then CEO of Hostess was awarded a 300 percent raise (from approximately $750,000 to $2,550,000) and at least nine other top executives of the company received massive pay raises. One such executive received a pay increase from $500,000 to $900,000 and another received one taking his salary from $375,000 to $656,256.

Yep, must have been greedy unions. I am not a business expert, but it looks like a lot of upper level mismanagement. It also looks like they knew things were getting bad and figured to get as much as they could before the company went belly up.

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My Labor Roots

This is a little late for labor day, but what the hell.

My family has not been a member of union in three generations, not counting my kids, yet we remain pro-organized labor. What made my family pro-union and made us Democrats? My pro-labor heritage goes back to both my grandfathers.

A couple stories…

Sometime around the 1920’s my grandfather (He is Bob Sr. I am Bob III) moved from the thumb of Michigan down to Detroit with his brother. The plan was that Bob Sr. would work and put his brother through college and then his brother would reciprocate. Bob Sr. and his brother were Republicans, as were most of the people from the thumb, along with my family who still lives there.

My grandfather took a job on an assembly line at Dodge Brothers automotive when Dodge was a stand-alone company, and not yet unionized. Bob Sr. assembled some sort of complex part and was paid by the piece, instead of by the hour as is currently the norm. He must have been a pretty inventive guy, because he invented a tool that assisted his assembly of this part. Due to his tool, his output doubled and so did his pay. He started making real good money.

Before long Dodge Brothers management came through and handled out copies of my Grandfather’s tool to all the workers.  With output doubled, Dodge Brothers then cut the worker’s pay in half.

The story goes that Bob Sr. walked out that day.  He walked out a union man and waked out a pro-union Democrat. He later organized milk deliverymen in Detroit and was known to carry a small pro-union sign with a very thick sign post.

My maternal grandfather’s (Dillard) story is a little shorter. He was always a Republican, for no good reason. He was also a West Virginia coal miner, until he moved to Detroit before my mother was born. He later died of emphysema. His hero was John L. Lewis and supported the organization of coal miners.

Some say that those days are past and that labor laws now protect workers. Some say organized labor's days are over. Some even blame our economic woes on them.

I say unions are needed more, and needed the world over. The working person needs a voice more than ever to stand up against multinational corporations, right-wing media and corporatist economic polices espoused by politicians of both parties. When the people of all nations are free to unionize, only then will markets, and the workers of the world, be truly free.

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